First Dance
by IAmBadgerHearMeRoar
Summary: Based a few months after CoHF...Alec starts to wonder where his and Magnus's relationship is really headed... *Spoilers* xMalecx
1. Chapter 1

"Magnus! I got the Thai food," Alexander Lightwood unlocked the door to his boyfriend's apartment and then shut it quietly behind himself. He ran up the steps that led into the living room and stepped around the corner. Every single day the room looked differently; Alec had gotten over getting surprised after the first week. Now it was almost a game to see what Magnus Bane, High Warlock of Brooklyn, and Freewheeling Bisexual (as he liked and often referred to himself as) had created in the large space. Today, everything was white; a low, white modern sofa, white box end tables, some weird looking white chair that was shaped like an egg, and a polar bear rug in front of the flat screen.  
"Be out in a minute, Pumpkin!"  
Alec grinned and shook his head as he walked into the kitchen, setting the bag of food down on the bright granite island. He shrugged off his jacket and laid it haphazardly over the bar stool that was pushed under the island; it was bright orange and had small figurines of flamingos and palm trees on the materiel (Magnus had said that it 'went with the island theme') It was getting warmer out, and the dark gray sweater that he was wearing was sticking to his skin. Alec tugged at the collar as he grabbed two plates from the top shelf of the cupboard and started pulling the containers of food out of the plastic bag. He pushed up the sleeves and shook some hair out of his eyes, then started spooning noodles onto one of the plates. He could hear Magnus in the bedroom, it sounded like he was throwing books against the wall. Alec grinned again, and looked up quickly and something caught his eye.  
Magnus had framed a picture of them from Luke and Jocelyn's wedding last winter. They were standing, Magnus's arms around his waist, and his head on Alec's shoulder. Alec couldn't remember who had taken it; it was a candid shot that was taken from across the dance floor. Neither of them knew it was being taken, they both were watching Luke and Jocelyn have their first dance. It was both Alec and Magnus's favorite picture of themselves. Alec could still remember what Magnus had whispered in his ear right after the picture had been taken. _"Maybe someday that will be us."_  
Alec hadn't known how to respond. So he'd simply leaned his head to the side and kissed Magnus deeply.  
Alec didn't hear Magnus come into the kitchen, so it startled him when he felt the familiar, cool lips press against his neck, but he instantly calmed. "Hey," He murmured.  
"Hey yourself, did you forget my soy sauce?" Magnus began digging through the plastic bag.  
Alec bit into a mouthful of noodles. He swallowed before responding. "There's still some in the fridge from last time."  
Magnus pulled the door of the pale blue, antique looking fridge open and rummaged for a few seconds before exclaiming "Ah! There you are, you salty, wonderful, little devil." He doused his noodles in the dark liquid then slurped them up. Alec looked him over. He had on dark green pajama bottoms, a plain white shirt, a lavender house coat, and bed head. No makeup, and barefoot. There were also lines under his eyes. Alec had spent the night before at the Institute; him and Jace had gone out hunting early this morning, and it had been easier to just stay there. He swallowed another bite of noodles.  
"Mmh- You okay?" He reached out a hand and brushed the hair away from the nape of Magnus's neck, rubbing slowly.  
Magnus just relaxed into the touch for a few moments, before taking another bite of noodles and responding. "I said I'd help Catarina with a complicated healing spell. And I can't find the right book." He rested his hands on the counter, sighing as Alec rubbed circles with his thumb into the sensitive area. "It's just more annoying than anything." He turned his head and smiled sleepily at Alec. "What about you? Good day with Blondie?"  
Alec used his left hand to take another bite of noodles, his right still rubbing circles. He nodded "Yeah, killed a nasty Shax demon. Then we just kinda hung out in Central Park till he had to go meet Clary for dinner."  
Magnus nodded. "And how is my red haired spitfire?"  
Alec grinned. "That's right; I forgot you haven't seen anyone in awhile. She's fine. I think she's been spending afternoons with Simon a lot of the time. She and Iz have been trading off walks down memory lane with him."  
Magnus had spent the last few weeks trying to track down a demon for a prestigious client and had just finished business last night. That's what a lot of his lack of sleep was still from. He'd stopped leaving the apartment and lived on the takeout Alec brought him every night.  
Magnus snapped his finger and a cup of coffee appeared on the counter top. He rarely drank the stuff; he'd only bought a coffee put because Alec liked it in the morning. But Magnus picked up the mug and took a giant gulp. "He remembering anything more?"  
"He's actually doing really great. I saw him last weekend, and he's just having trouble remembering little details about stuff. He's got most of all the big stuff back." Alec dropped his hand from Magnus's neck. "I hope that's decaf." He nodded toward the mug. Magnus raised his eyebrows. "It's almost nine." Alec continued.  
"Dear God," Magnus snorted and set the mug down on the counter. "Are we that old married couple that's in bed by nine, now? Only seeing our friends at bridge on Saturday? Reading each other the newspaper in the morning?"  
"Well," Alec straightened his back. "That doesn't sound all bad,"  
Magnus leaned over and kissed his cheek.  
"Also what is bridge?"  
"I love that you don't know," He kissed him again before sighing and leaning back, picking the mug up again. "And to answer your first question, it is not decaf. I'm staying up tonight to research the spell some more." He downed the rest of the noodles, and then set the plate in the sink. Then he carried the mug out of the room, walking in the direction of the bedroom once more. He kept his more loved and old spell books in there on a giant, old bookcase that Alec was pretty sure was bought at estate sale in France _quite_ a few years ago. Magnus disappeared behind the door, and Alec was left standing at the island, his plate of noodles half uneaten. He tugged the bar stool out and sat on his jacket, resting his elbows on the counter. He sighed down at his plate, deciding that he really didn't feel like finishing.  
He knew it was stupid, but the jealously was starting the seep its way into his bones. He always felt rejected when Magnus was busy. No matter what he did, he couldn't capture the warlock's full attention. Magnus's mind had been elsewhere for the past few weeks, and Alec really missed him. This was actually the longest that they'd spent talking in awhile. Maybe he should just go back to the Institute again tonight; he'd kept his bedroom the same there, there were just less clothes in the closet. He now kept a change of gear at Magnus's apartment, in case he had to leave quickly when he was here. But he was off the clock right now. And he didn't feel like catching a cab. He shoved the plate away from him and stood, figuring he'd get it in the morning. He kicked off his boots and walked back into the living room, grabbing the remote and sitting down on the white couch. Television bored the hell out of him. Alec had never understood the infatuation mundanes had with it. He just spaced out, staring at the screen, and before he realized it, he'd been watching an infomercial about a garden hose for forty five minutes. The remote dropped from his hand onto the couch after he turned the TV off, and he rubbed a hand over his face. There hadn't been any noise from the bedroom for awhile, so maybe Magnus had had a breakthrough. Alec stood slowly, moving his neck from side to side; he'd gotten a kink watching the screen.  
He padded into the bedroom, and winced at the bright light that was lit on Magnus's desk. The warlock was bent over a large, leather bound book, and was scribbling into a yellow legal pad. House coat shrugged off on the back of the chair, and hair standing on end like he'd run his fingers threw it. Alec glanced at the paper as he passed, and it looked to him like some ancient hieroglyphics or something. The large, insanely comfortable bed welcomed Alec as he flopped down on it, on his stomach. After listening to Magnus scribble for a few minutes, Alec sat back up and rubbed his hand over his eyes again. He stood and tugged his sweater off over his head, and dropped it on the floor. The full length mirror on the back of the closet door reflected his torso. He had muscle, and strength, but his body didn't show it off like Jace's did. When they were younger, Alec had been jealous about this, but older, he was happy. He could hide under sweaters, hoodies, and jackets. He didn't want to show off. He didn't want to strut around, muscles budging; it just wasn't attractive to him. That was why Magnus's tall, lean, thin frame was so appealing to him. Alec turned and looked at the man hunched at the desk. And before he could stop himself, the question slipped out that he had been thinking about earlier.  
"Did you mean what you said at the wedding?"  
Magnus's head snapped up at the noise, then he turned slowly to look at Alec, his eyes green and slit. "…What?"  
Alec pulled one knee under him and sat on the corner of the bed. "At the wedding. Did you mean what you said?"  
Magnus narrowed his cat eyes. "You mean, about hope and trying and everything?"  
"No, I mean," Alec shook his head. "I know you meant that. I was talking about…the getting married thing." He picked at a hole in his jeans, eyes on the floor.  
Magnus was quiet for a few moments, then he sighed. "Alexander, I will need a lot more caffeine before we have this conversation."  
"Forget it." Alec nodded. "How's it going?" He made himself meet the other man's eyes.  
Magnus rubbed his forehead, something he always did when he was exhausted. "I think I made a breakthrough. I found some old things listed in here that might help Catarina."  
"Well, that's good."  
"Indeed. I'll call her in the morning." He turned back to the desk and moved a piece of paper.  
Alec stood and stepped across the room. He let his fingers dance across Magnus's shoulder. "Sounds like you could use a reward,"  
Magnus groaned, resting his head on the desk. Alec took this as a positive, and began rubbing his hands into the man's shoulders, trying to relieve built up stress and tension. He used his strength to push in all the right places, and a few minutes later, Magnus whispered to him. "I am beginning to regret the no decaf thing,"  
Alec chuckled, low in his throat, and leaned down to Magnus's ear. "Come to bed,"  
Magnus didn't need any more convincing. He let Alec pull him up, and pull him over to the large bed. Alec slowly tugged the t-shirt up and over Magnus's head. He leaned down and let his lips trail to the one spot that was his favorite. The middle of Magnus's torso, and his missing navel. When Alec touched the skin here with his lips, Magnus  
"Oh, Alec," He slowly moved his fingers up, and gripped a hold of Alec's messy, ink black hair and tugged him up. Their mouths collided together and Alec moaned. God, he missed him. Magnus pushed them so they fell onto the bed, and pinned Alec under him, moving his lips down to Alec's neck. Alec could feel all of the stress and pain and frustration of the last few weeks slipping away, and melting between the two of them. He slipped his hands onto Magnus's face and pulled him up to look at him. Blue into feline green.  
"I love you." He murmured his lips barely moving.  
Magnus closed his eyes, and let a large smile grow on his face. And he spent the rest of the night showing Alec just how much he loved him back. After all, he'd drank three cups of caffeine, and didn't really feel like falling asleep just yet.

*THANK YOU FOR READING!  
I really like how it turned out, but my question is…should I continue it? I have some ideas of where it might go, and as you can see, I left it open ended. So, please review and let me know! 3 *


	2. Chapter 2

The early morning light started to seep in through a small slit in the elaborate curtains that hung in Magnus's bedroom. Alec swallowed as he woke, and slowly blinked his eyes open. He laid there for a moment, before the memory of last night washed over him and he smiled. His hand reached over to the other side of the bed, but all he connected with were the pale green sheets. Alec leaned up on his elbow and coughed.  
"Magnus?" He called quietly, his voice still thick with sleep.  
"Well, good morning sleepyhead." Magnus waltzed in through the bedroom door, looking very well rested, and coffee mug in hand.  
Alec raised an eyebrow. "More coffee?"  
Magnus sat down on the bed next to him. "No, this is yours." He handed the mug over. "But what was that movie where they talked about selling it as legally addictive stimulants, because they were really on to something." Alec smirked as he took a sip of the warm liquid. Magnus continued on. "Anyway, I have already sent all of the information I was able to gather to Catarina, hopefully some of it helps. But to be honest, I haven't dabbled with any of that stuff since last century." He slumped back against the pillows and looked over at Alec. "So…what are your plans for today?"  
"Training with Jace. Then Izzy wants everyone to go out for lunch. You free to meet us at Taki's?"  
Magnus frowned. "I have a client coming over this afternoon."  
Alec tried to not let his face fall.  
"But, we could meet for dinner."  
Alec smiled. "_Dante's_?"  
Magnus smiled back. "As you wish,"

"Okay so…this was not supposed to happen." Jace was currently twisted in about three different ropes, and was hanging haphazardly, his head closer to the floor and his feet in the air. He'd tried to propel off one of the high beams in the training room, and tried to land in some sort of acrobatic move with the ropes which Alec didn't even understand. Sitting from his spot on a mat, he looked up at the blond boy resting in midair and squinted at him.  
"How did you actually expect that to work?" He asked, curiously.  
"Better than this," Jace muttered, reaching up to try to loosen a rope around his ankle.  
"You know, if you fall I will laugh."  
"Where is your undying devotion and support?"  
"It jumped off the beam with you," Alec chuckled as Jace got one of the ropes loose, and dropped a few more inches down.  
He grunted and eventually loosened the right rope, then dropped down easily; landing crouched on the ball of his feet. He looked up and grinned at Alec. "At least I made that look awesome."  
Alec rolled his eyes and stood. "Whatever you need to tell yourself,"  
The two boys cleaned off quickly in the showers, and then headed down the hall toward the elevator. Everyone was meeting for lunch down in the hall of the church. Jace's blond hair was still wet, and he shook it a few times before giving Alec a sideway look as they matched each other step for step down the long hallway. Alec's steps were feeling lighter, and he felt the smile that was slipping onto his face, thinking about the dinner tonight.  
"You look particularly chipper today." He narrowed his eyes. "Have you by any chance found antidepressants?"  
Alec knew that he had a shorter fuse when Magnus was busy. He really wasn't sure how anyone could stand to be around him a few months ago when he and Magnus were broken up. He couldn't even explain why; it just felt like a giant gray cloud settled over his head and stayed there.  
"Yeah, figured it was about time," He muttered back in response to Jace. Not really putting any heart into the comeback.  
"Ah, don't tell me," Jace clutched his heart and bunched up his white t-shirt in his fist, then adopted a dramatic tone. "You and Magnus spent hours looking into each other's dewy eyes fighting about who loved each other more. Am I right?"  
A shadow of a grin crossed Alec's face. "You're not totally wrong."  
They'd reached the elevator and Jace jabbed the button. Then he fixed his eyes on Alec. "He finished working?"  
Alec shrugged. "With that client. He's seeing another one today."  
Jace made a face. "I feel your pain. Clary's been busy lately with Simon; we've hardly seen each other. I'm honestly surprised you haven't tried to take out your sexual frustration on me. You know, I might not have said no-" Jace cut off with a laugh as Alec shoved his arm and pushed him into the open elevator.  
When it opened down in the church, the first thing Alec saw was a wave of red hair. Clary grabbed both Jace and Alec's hand and pulled both of them out of the elevator, a huge grin on her face.  
"He remembers the entire day we first visited the Seelie queen!" She squealed, gesturing to Simon who was standing awkwardly, his ratty 'Made in Brooklyn' shirt on, his hands stuck in the pockets of his jeans, the new dark brown frames sitting on his nose.  
"Wasn't that the day you and Jace basically committed incest right in front of us?" Alec asked, not unkindly.  
"And wasn't that also the day that you broke his heart?" Jace asked, extremely helpful.  
Clary narrowed her eyes at them. "You two can be very annoying sometimes, you do know this."  
Alec and Jace grinned at each other.  
"And anyway, he's already forgiven me for the whole 'breaking his heart' thing. Several times."She looked at Simon. "Because he's awesome. Also, hi." She leaned up on her toes and placed a kiss on Jace's cheek.  
Alec ignored the two lovebirds and walked over to Simon.  
"Hey," They both nodded at each other.  
"Getting ready for your Accession?" Alec asked.  
Simon reached up and scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah. There's still tons of studying to do. Like, learning different training techniques, and about a zillion different types of demons."  
"Jace and I could probably help, if you want," Alec offered.  
"What are you volunteering my services for?" Jace asked walking up, his arm looped casually around Clary's shoulder.  
Before Alec could answer, the side door of the church opened and Isabelle stepped inside. She had on a midnight blue dress that reached the floor, her long, straight hair down her back. A few fading runes were etched along her bare arms. She stepped into the room, then pushed her sunglasses up onto the crown of her head and smiled at everyone. "Who's ready for lunch?"

"One of these days you're going to kill yourself," Clary commented as Jace attempted to jump from parking meter to parking meter. The cops would have stopped him a long time ago, but he'd masked himself in a glamour.  
"I thought you loved me because of my danger, and thrill-seekingness." Jace leapt off of the last meter in the row, and gracefully landed on the sidewalk. Clary rolled her eyes and grinned. They were halfway to Taki's now, Alec following the rest of the group, with his hands stuck in the pockets of his jeans, the sleeves of his sweaters rolled up around his elbows again. Isabelle and Simon were walking arm in arm, her speaking softly to him, him grinning back in response. There were interesting to look at, Alec thought. Isabelle had always hated being taller than some boys, even though she didn't let it stop her affection for heels. He remembered when they were younger and she used to complain about it. But even in heels, Simon was still a hair taller than her. He'd lost a lot of his grace after becoming human again, his gait back to being lanky and a little awkward. And his face had changed a bit too. Simon chalked it up to the loss of his 'Sexy Vampire Mojo' which they all tried to tell him didn't exist but he said that if he remembered anything, it was this.  
At Taki's, Alec just ordered a strawberry shake, figuring he'd be eating again in a few hours anyway. He listened to the chatter that bounced around the table; Isabelle ranting about a sale she'd missed at Sacks, Clary saying something about a new rune she was trying to work on, and with Jace, something about a duck.

When they all said their goodbyes after eating and parted different ways, Alec figured he'd better change before the dinner. He jogged back to the Institute, and rummaged in his closet for something at least somewhat suitable to wear. He finally settled on dark jeans, a gray shirt, and a simple, thin black tie. He didn't even try to do anything with his hair, it never behaved anyway. He shrugged on a jacket, then caught a cab back out on the street. Pretty soon, he was at _Dante's_, one of his and Magnus's favorite spots; a little Italian hole in the way, with the best spaghetti in the city. Alec paid the driver, and then walked inside the small building. A reception desk was seated right inside the door, and a thin man with ears that stuck out was scribbling on a piece of paper, standing behind it.  
"Ah, hello sir. Dining in?" He looked up and addressed Alec.  
"Yes," He responded.  
"Do you have a reservation?"  
"-Uh," Alec paused. He didn't know if Magnus had made one or not. "Possibly. It would be under Bane,"  
The man ran his finger down a list, and then poked it going "Ah. Yes." He smiled. "Your guest is already here." He stepped around the desk, and gestured toward the dining room. "Right this way…"


	3. Chapter 3

Tiny crystal pings of lights bounced around the dining room of_ Dante's_, thanks to the glass orbs hanging off the ceiling. Alec looked up at them as he followed the man to the table, and thought about the first time Magnus had brought him here. It was the third time Magnus had convinced him to go out to dinner. It was a few nights before Jace had been imprisoned in the Silent City, and Valentine broke in and attacked him. Alec smiled at the memory of Magnus ordering their meal for them in Italian. Smiling at him from across the table, his face shining in the candle light. It was a night that Alec kept very close to his heart. But how much they'd been through since then; the time they'd spent apart last winter made Alec's heart hurt just to think about. And he still had nightmares about losing Magnus to his father down in the demon realm. The first time he'd had one, he'd woken with a sweat, heart racing, and stomach twisting. He had spent that night at the Institute, and could barely work through the motions to slip on his boots, a jacket, and make his way downtown to the apartment that he knew so well. He'd let himself in, and slowly walked to Magnus's bedroom, then knelt down by the side of the bed. Magnus had had one arm slung across the sheets, and had a tiny bit of drool on the side of his gaping mouth but Alec didn't care. He'd just had to assure himself that Magnus was truly, and wholly there. He'd crawled under the blankets and wiggled up next to Magnus's bare chest. The warm skin was home, and Alec shuddered out a breath, and then slowly drifted off to sleep, listening to Magnus's heartbeat under his ear.  
Alec blinked as he pulled himself out of his thoughts.  
"Here you are, Sir," The man who had lead Alec to the table stepped to the side to reveal Magnus already sitting; donned in a dark suit, with a purple, sparkling tie and matching handkerchief in his pocket. Alec felt his smile grow at the sight of him, as he sat down in the seat across from the warlock. Magnus's dark, lined eyes gleamed. "How was training?" He asked.  
"Good," Alec reached out and swiped a breadstick from the basket in the center of the table. "And so was lunch." He took a bite of the warm bread. "I told Simon that Jace and I could help him with getting ready for his Ascension."  
"Ah, little Seamus," Magnus twirled his wine glass in his hand, absently. "I'm glad he's doing well,"  
"Clary was ecstatic; he remembered more stuff today. And I can tell it means a lot to Iz, too." Alec chewed thoughtfully for a moment. "I'm glad those two are happy together. Granted, Simon's not anything like she used to go after,"  
"But he did fall into the shadow for a bit. Do you think it's perhaps that residual 'bad boy' vibe that's she's after?" Magnus asked curiously.  
Alec shook his head. "Not at all. I mean, I wondered at first. But I think that she really loves him," He looked up and met Magnus's eye. "And I know he loves her back. He got to fall in love with her all over again."  
"Only some are so lucky…" Magnus trailed off, a secret smile playing on his lips. "Ah, evening, Phillip," He looked up and said to the waiter who had just stepped up to their table. Magnus took the liberty to order their meal (once again, in fluent Italian). Phillip, eyes slightly wide, walked off toward the kitchen as Magnus held up his wine glass, taking a sip. "As I was saying: Do you remember Tessa?"  
Alec took another bite of the breadstick. The strawberry shake was not holding him very well. "Of course,"  
"Well, I just received a lovely letter from her. She and Jem are currently spending some time in Paris. They've rented a flat, and are planning to make a visit home to visit relatives soon."  
"Relatives?" Alec asked.  
"Tessa and Will's family. She distanced herself after Will first died. Couldn't stand the pain of being around those that she knew would be gone," Magnus's eyes hardened slightly. "But, they wish to visit and see everyone once more. Meet her great great grandchildren." Magnus tipped his head to the side and looked at Alec. "Has anyone ever told you about Gideon?"  
Alec's eyes widened. "You mean, as in my name Gideon?" Magnus nodded. "Uh, not really. Except the fact that he was family and, I guess lived around the time Will and them all did."  
"Remind me to tell you about him some day. I didn't know him well, but he was a good man. You remind me of him, at times."  
Phillip came back to the tables and set their salads down in front of them. "Enjoy, gentlemen," He said, with a thick accent.  
"We intend to," Magnus replied, sprinkling salt onto the plate.

It was silent for a few minutes as they ate. Then Magnus slowly took a sip of wine, thinking. He looked like he was trying to decide what to say before he opened his mouth.  
"Alec, you had a question last night."  
The memory of sticking his foot in his mouth floated back to him, and he felt his cheeks grow red. He set his fork down, and reached up to run a shaky hand through his hair. "Uh, sorry. I was just looking at that picture and I thought about everything and, I don't know, I just wanted to see what you thought, I guess," He babbled. Magnus didn't stop him. He just watched Alec; eyes serious.  
"Is that truly how you feel?"  
Alec winced and looked around them. The small dining room was crowded, and this was the last place he really wanted to be having this particular conversation. In fact, he didn't really want to be having it anywhere. A lady from the other side of the room was looking at them, eyes narrowed. Alec knew that look. He used to be absolutely terrified of receiving it. But once he met Magnus, the fear just slowly slipped away. He didn't care if people stared. He didn't care if people pointed, and laughed. Because he was in love.  
Magnus was still expecting an answer and Alec had no idea what to say. "…I guess?" He whispered. Magnus nodded slowly, and then leaned back in his chair. Alec tried to gauge him for a reaction, but the older man's face had turned into Fort Knox. He stayed quiet; their salads sitting forgotten.  
"Say something," Alec finally begged him.  
He leaned forward and leaned on his elbows, looking Alec straight in the eye. His cat eyes flashed for just a moment. Alec swallowed.

"In all of my life, I have loved many people. There have been some that I remember to this day, and some that I wish I could remember better. All have made me better in some way or another. Or, at least I've have usually enjoyed their company. But when I met you," He paused. "I've gone over it in my head a million times. You. A young boy," Alec hated when he referred to him like this. "A quiet, shy, loyal, loving little Shadowhunter." Magnus shook his head in amazement. "It doesn't make sense." He slowly reached out and took Alec's hand from across the table. Alec sucked in a breath at the cool touch. "I love you, Alexander. More than I have any other. And if I could, I would spend the rest of my lifetime with you by my side. You know this," His eyes turned sad. "But, Alec, you're eighteen,"  
"Nineteen in a few weeks," He snapped, and felt instantly like a child.  
Magnus smiled sadly. "You know what I'm getting at. I couldn't ask you to make a sort of commitment like that. It's too much for you're in your life right now. You're still so young, you have so much life left,"  
"Do I get a say in this?" Alec cut in.  
Magnus's eyebrows raised slightly, then nodded. "Of course." He kept drawing circles on the back of Alec's hand.  
"Do you remember what I was like last fall? When you left me?" A shadow of hurt crossed Magnus's face, but Alec continued. "I was absolutely and completely destroyed. I felt like the world was imploding. I felt like I could never feel happy again. And I_ hated_ that. I hated that something or someone had the power to do that to me, to make me feel that way. And when I realized that I felt that way because I was irrevocably in love with you? I was scared to death." He swallowed. "I refuse to go through that again. I'm not going anywhere. I'm here for good." He paused. "So you can spout off the fact of my age, or whatever the hell you want, but that's not going to change anything." He said in a rush.  
Magnus stayed silent for a moment. "…So where does that leave us?" He asked softly.  
Alec ran another hand through his hair. "I don't know."

The rest of the dinner passed in an awkward fashion; Magnus tried to get Alec to laugh, but his mind was somewhere else. He didn't know what he was really feeling. Hurt? Broken hearted? Or just plain numb. When they got back to the apartment (everything was in a different animal print today), Alec stalked off to the shower. He stood in there for a long time, the sandalwood scent filling his nose, and the warm water running over his skin. When he finally dried off and stepped out of the shower, he could hear a Patsy Cline song drifting down the hallway from the bedroom. He groaned. Magnus only broke out Patsy when he was upset about something. Alec tied the towel tightly around his waist, and then stepped down the hall, following the sound of the music. Magnus was lying on his back on the bed, eyes closed, still wearing his suit. Alec leaned against the door frame, arms folded. He cleared his throat, and Magnus sat up.  
His cat eyes widened slightly. "Oh, hell," He groaned. "You're gonna make me get this out while you're standing there all wet in nothing but a _towel_?"  
"Get what out?" Alec asked, confused.  
Magnus slid to the edge of the bed and set his forearms on his knees. He had his business face on. "Say we wait until your twenty one."  
Alec blinked. "Excuse me?"  
"Twenty one. You'll officially be an adult, you can drink, buy drugs, do other illegal things."  
"I'm already an adult." Alec countered back.  
"Alec," Magnus exhaled. "Twenty?"  
"Why does my age bother you so much? Shouldn't this be the other way around?" Alec grinned.  
"You're not going to make this easy at all, are you?"  
"Probably not." The grin stayed plastered on his face as he moved into the room and knelt in front of the warlock, locking on his eyes. "And I'm not going to change my mind. Be it tomorrow or on my ninetieth birthday. I know what I want." He let his fingers graze Magnus's knee. "_You_," He reached up and crushed his mouth against Magnus's. He let his fingers crawl up the front of the suit, and felt Magnus groan. Alec undid the tie slowly, and pulled it out, letting it drop to the floor. His fingers curled around Magnus's neck, and he finally felt the other man touch him; his hands curling around his back, pressing him into him. Magnus traced a fading agility rune on Alec's shoulder blade, and Alec shivered. He began to unbutton Magnus's shirt, while slowly trailing his lips across his jaw. The man turned to putty in Alec's hands, and sunk down on the bed, pulling Alec up and onto him.

Later than night, the towel Alec had been wearing on the other side of the room, Magnus was on his stomach, blinking slowly.  
"Maybe I need more caffeine." He mused quietly.  
Alec chuckled. "It's past midnight. I think you need sleep."  
"No, sleep is very bad," Magnus reached over and drew Alec into a deep kiss.  
Alec pulled back after a minute. "Magnus?"  
"Hmm?"  
"Can we please turn Patsy off now?"

***Thank you so much for the very nice reviews! I hope that it's going okay; it's the longest ff I've written, so I'm trying my best. Thanks again! **** ***


	4. Chapter 4

"What's an Elapid?"  
"'_An Elapid demon is a giant, scaled creature with a snake head, insect body, with over a dozen legs that end in claws. Head and neck are like a cobra's. They contain deadly venom from their fangs._'" Jace read from the demon terminology textbook. He looked up, his face thoughtful. "Nasty things. Scuffed my boots when we fought them last fall."  
Alec rolled his eyes. "Heard of that one?" He asked Simon, who currently had his head in his hands, elbows propped on an old, large book. The three of them were curled up in the library of the Institute, helping Simon study. They'd been there since early that morning, and were starting to starve; it was almost lunch time.  
Simon groaned, and his face planted into the book, his glasses sitting safely on the desk next to him. "I think?" He replied, muffled by the book. "Do I have to know all of this?"  
"I thought a nerd like you would love all this," Jace commented, flipping through a few pages from his seat on top of a desk, boots placed on the back of the chair in front of him.  
"It is cool. I mean, it's freaking epic," Simon leaned back and stretched. "I just feel like I'm studying for finals, or ACT or something. And that is not learning I enjoy." He frowned, and set the frames back on his nose. "Also playing Dungeons and Dragons does not automatically classify me as a nerd."  
"Oh, I beg to differ." Jace replied, distracted. He looked up and met Alec's eye. "Look at this," He smirked and held up the book. Alec squinted over at it.  
On the page was a picture of a Dragonidae demon. And below it was scribbled handwriting. Alec stood and crossed the room, taking the book from Jace.  
_'Not nearly extinct enough for Alec. He prefers his monsters really, really extinct.'  
_Alec snorted. "I forgot about this."  
"Don't say I never come through on a promise," Jace grinned and folded his arms.  
"Someone call for takeout?" Isabelle stepped into the room, holding two plastic bags, and smiling.  
"By the Angel," Jace jumped up. "You are truly a sight for sore eyes, Iz," He grabbed one of the bags, then kissed her on the cheek.  
"Yeah, well, don't forget you owe me for this one. I bought last week." She held out her hand, eyebrow raised, and he grumbled as he fished a few crumpled bills out of his pocket.  
"So how goes the studying?" She asked, pulling a takeout container out of the other bag, and sitting down on one of the wingback chairs that were spaced around the dim library.  
"Take out the 'stu' part, and that's about where we're at," Simon said, as Jace handing him a box of food.  
Isabelle frowned for a second, and then rolled her eyes at Simon's bad joke. "Lovely," She took a bite of rice.  
"It's not that bad," Alec said biting into his eggroll. "We've made it through half of a demon textbook," He glanced at his watch. "And it's not even one yet,"  
Isabelle nodded. "Well, I figured we could work on some fighting techniques this afternoon," She reached out and nudged Simon with her foot, a smirk on her face. "If you're up for it," Simon smiled at her.  
"Is that just code for making out?" Jace asked, with a mouth full of chicken.  
"Of course not. But what girl doesn't have a reward system?" Isabelle asked.  
"Remind me to never train with you again."

Later that afternoon, Isabelle dragged Simon off to the training room, and Jace was meeting Clary at her apartment, and that left Alec alone to continue reading in the library. He enjoyed being alone here, with the books. He used to sneak in here when he was young, and Hodge was busy. He'd spent hours curled up in one of the large chairs, learning about the magical world that he called home. A few minutes later, Alec shut the book he'd been skimming, and left the room in search of some coffee. The witchlight lit his way to the kitchen, then as he turned around a corner he collided into a tall, thin creature. Alec's eyes blinked upward and connected with gleaming, green, feline pupils that he loved so much. And he felt his jaw go slack.  
"What are you doing here?" He asked, not unkindly, taking a step back.  
Magnus smiled back down at him. "Had a question for your mother about a client. Then I thought I'd see if you're free,"  
Alec felt his heart speed up slightly. They hadn't touched the subject since last night, but he still didn't know where they were standing. Magnus seemed to be a bit more considering last night, and Alec had taken that as a positive. Alec had stated his place, and now it was up to Magnus to make the next move.  
"I am tonight. I'm patrolling with Jace when he gets back from Clary's."  
"Perfect!" Magnus clapped his hands together and blue sparks shot from his fingertips. "I'm throwing a party tonight. Tell all of them that they're welcome," His teeth were bright white against his dark honey skin.  
"Party?"  
"Chairman is finally back. He was punishing me for neglecting him last week, but he made a reappearance this morning right after you left,"  
Alec grinned and shook his head. Magnus hadn't thrown a party in ages. "Sure. I'll let everyone know." He said. "And I'll try to be home about six."  
"Perfect," Magnus repeated, but this time in a lower voice. He reached up and clasped his hands around Alec's face. A slow burn started in the pit of Alec's stomach. His breath came out ragged, and he swallowed. Magnus pulled them closer until they were less than an inch apart. "See you then," He let their lips touch for less than a millisecond, then pulled away and disappeared.

This brought back so many memories. The mob was just getting started, and it already looked like the party had been going on for about three days. Alec milled around, not exactly sure where to look. He was never comfortable at events like this, even though knowing Magnus made it easier by default. A song with a throbbing bass line was pulsing through the speakers, and strobe lights were flashing everywhere. Alec watched a few kelpies dancing by the wall, then veered off and headed into the kitchen. He scrunched his nose at a young were couple who were pawing at each other in front of the sink. Alec ate toast there this morning. He rolled his eyes and started to look for anyone he actually recognized. Magnus was nowhere to be seen at the moment. He'd kissed Alec when he'd gotten there a few hours ago, than milled around greeting guests. He was wearing a bright red suit, and had spiked his hair and added bright blue colors. His eyes were so coated in glitter, that Alec was surprised he could actually open them. Alec glanced down at his dark jeans, boots, and black shirt. He looked like he was basically in gear. A fresh rune was itched into his neck from earlier today, and he hadn't done anything with his hair. Like he even knew what to do with it. Over the head of a bobbing vampire, Alec saw Jace's blond head, and Clary right next to him. He made his way over to them and shouted over the music.  
"What took you so long?"  
Isabelle showed up suddenly behind them, her hand in Simon's. "You never show up at a party when it's only just started, Alec. Honestly, doesn't Magnus teach you any of this?"  
He rolled his eyes.  
Isabelle started to pull Simon off to the bar, as he babbled about remembering turning into a rat at the last party he was at. Clary followed after them, her green party dress swishing around her knees. Jace stepped toward Alec and leaned toward his ear so Alec could hear him.  
"You look like you're upset about something?"  
Alec pulled back and clenched his jaw. Jace continued.  
"You were off earlier, too. What's up?"  
Alec stayed silent. Jace nudged him, and then jerked his head to the side, indicating Alec to follow him through the throng of people dancing. Alec grudgingly kept up behind him, and stepped into one of the guest bedrooms off the hall. Jace shut the door behind them, effectively cutting off a majority of the noise. He folded his arms and leaned on the door. "Talk."  
Alec stuck his hands in his pockets. "It's nothing."  
Jace laughed. "You seriously think that's gonna work?"  
"I don't want to talk about it, Jace." Alec snapped at his parabatai.  
"You were so happy the other day," Jace countered back.  
"Yeah, well, things change,"  
"Did you guys break up?"  
Alec gaped at him. "…What?"  
Jace shrugged.  
Alec sat down on the bed and ran a hand through his hair. "No, we didn't."  
"Then what? Because something's happened. It's written all over your face,"  
Alec sighed. "I don't," He paused. "I don't really know what's happening right now." He wet his lips, then looked up at Jace's face. "I think, I think I sorta proposed to him. In a way."  
Jace choked.  
"Or at least, brought the subject up. And it's…being discussed." He stayed quiet then, trying to gauge Jace's reaction.  
The blond boy was silent for a few seconds and then he whispered "_Holy shit_." He grinned.  
Alec breathed a short laugh. "Yeah."  
Jace moved over and sat by him on the bed. "You're serious?" Alec nodded. "Well. I was completely off track then." He thought for a moment. "I have one request."  
Alec, confused, said "Okay?"  
"Do not make me wear a velvet suit. Because even I can't pull that off."

It was almost five in the morning when the last guest stumbled out the door. Alec was currently half asleep on the couch; the guest of honor, Chairman Meow, had escaped under Magnus's bed several hours ago. Speaking of Magnus, Alec blinked his heavy eyes open to see him walking around the room, snapping his fingers here and there to clean up everything. He just watched him silently for a few minutes, until Magnus turned and looked at him.  
"Awake?"  
Alec nodded and sat up slowly, yawning. Magnus pulled him up, and into the bedroom. Alec crawled on the bed and kicked off his shoes, pulling the blankets on top of him. He felt Magnus lay next to him, then the touch of a cool hand on his forehead, pushing his dark hair out of his face.  
"_Alec_?"  
Alec groaned into the pillow. Sleep was chanting his name, and he didn't think he could open his eyes.  
"Your birthday is next week,"  
Alec made a sound of confirmation in the back of his throat.  
"You'll be nineteen."  
_Uh-hu._  
"So I was thinking," Magnus traced the line of his eyebrow. "If you want to get technical about things… I'm nineteen. I mean, I haven't aged a day past it, thank heavens. But, you know. I was just thinking."  
Alec was quiet for a moment. Then he pried one eye open and looked at Magnus. "What are you saying?" He whispered.  
Magnus gave him a slightly impatient look. "What do you think I'm saying?"  
His brain trying to process, Alec pulled himself and rested on his elbows. "You're serious?" He repeated Jace's earlier words.  
Magnus's face softened. "I've never been more serious."  
His breathe was coming faster and his heart was pounding and his mouth felt dry. Magnus held a finger up to his lips.  
"I want to ask you properly, though."  
Alec breathed out a laugh. "Whatever." He pushed himself over and crashed their mouths together.

***Yes, I am aware that Alec's birthday is actually in September in cannon, but I had to change it to make it work with this story. Also I've never really found an explanation on the process of studying for the Ascension, so I'm kinda making it up as I go along! –heart- ***


	5. Chapter 5

"Nighthawk?"  
"No."  
"Redeagle ?"  
"Nada."  
"How about Countdoom?"  
"Seriously?"  
"Well, you're taking away all my favorite options!"  
"Try again,"  
"Okay, uh," Simon tapped a pen against his chin.  
He and Jace were currently arguing about Simon's new Shadowhunter name. Alec was trying to tune them out, while he flipped through the Institute's copy of the Codex that Simon was currently using. Jace, Simon, and Clary had scribbled and drawn all over it a few months ago, Alec was enjoying reading their comments.  
"Bloodhound?"  
"NO."  
Alec turned a page, and saw a letter that Magnus had stuck in the pages. He smiled as his eyes skinned the words while the other two boys continued to bicker. Alec sighed quietly, thinking last night over once more. The excitement and bundle of good nerves were rolling around in the pit of his stomach. They'd stayed up until after the sun rose, talking… 

"Do you remember when you wouldn't even call me back?"  
Alec had stuffed his face in the pillow, embarrassed. "Don't remind me,"  
"You adorable little thing, playing hard to get," Magnus chuckled.  
"And then _you_ wouldn't call me back," Alec grinned at him.  
Magnus turned on his side, so they were face to face. "Don't remind me," He whispered.  
Alec stared into those green eyes that had seen so much of the world. Magnus hadn't cleaned off his makeup, and the dark shadow and glitter made his pupils look huge and even more cat like, if that were possible. He felt like the happiness inside of him was just going to come bursting out. "Are we really doing this?" He asked, almost silently.  
Magnus kept his gaze. "If you want."  
"You want too, right?"  
"Alec." Magnus gave him a look. "You know I want nothing else in the world," Alec swallowed and bit his lip. Magnus reached out his long finger and touched his nose. "What are you thinking about?"  
"What about," Alec paused, and then started again. "But what about when I die?"  
Sadness grew on Magnus's face, and he absently reached his hand out and ran it through Alec's hair, curling his finger around his ear, making Alec shiver. "Haven't we had this conversation?"  
"Yeah," Alec responded. "But I still worry about you."  
Magnus grinned, but his heart wasn't in it. "Thank you, darling." He sighed. "I honestly don't know. I suppose I'll follow in Tessa's footsteps; travel the world. God knows I've already done this, though." He paused. "Did I ever tell you about the first night Tessa showed up after Will died?"  
Alec shook his head.  
"I was in Paris," His eyes glazing with times past. "Living in a disgusting, cramped little apartment that honestly should have been much nicer for what is cost me to stay there. And I was painting. Which, I will have you know, I was better than people will lead you to believe. I brought sparkles to the nineteenth century art scene." Alec grinned. "Anyway, she showed up on my doorstep one night, her hair limp, her eyes tired and dead. I had known why. I welcomed her in. She stayed with me for a few weeks, living on a mattress under the large bay window in the living room." Magnus swallowed. "She used to have nightmares. I did too, but it's always worse when the pain is fresh. She'd wake up screaming for Will, and I'd make my way out and sit with her. And I lied to her." He stopped talking, his eyes trained off in the darkness, swept up in his memories.  
"How?" Alec asked quietly.  
"I told her," He wet his lips. "I told her that it gets better after your first love dies,"  
Alec felt his eyebrow raise.  
Magnus met his eyes. "It doesn't. It gets worse."  
The two men lay silent, just watching each other, until Alec opened his mouth and whispered: "Why does this have to be so goddamn hard?"  
Magnus rolled on his back, a tired smile on his face. "Because it's life."

"You're hopeless." Jace dropped the book he had been holding on the desk. "Have Izzy help you. I give up. And you," Jace pointed at Alec who had just come out of his head. "Were a ton of help, thank you so much, I'll be sure to mention you in my Oscar speech."  
"What are you babbling about?" Alec asked, confused.  
Jace rolled his eyes, running a hand through his hair. "This idiot wants to name himself 'Battlemark.'"  
Simon had a content smile on his face. "I think it fits me well."  
Alec rolled his eyes and stood, tossing the Codex over to Simon. "I gotta go do something. I'll be back in ten." As he walked out of the library, he heard Jace complaining that he would need chocolate if they were going to continue on their name seeking adventure. Alec made his way down the hallway, until he finally got to the residential hall. He really kinda missed having Church around, but the cat seemed to be much happier with his previous owner. Alec knocked on Isabelle's bedroom door, and she opened up, one hand fastening an earring.  
"Oh, it's you!" She left him standing there, so he stepped inside and shut the door behind himself. He always felt like he needed to wear sunglasses in Izzy's room. The glitter against the black with the lights shining often gave him a headache. God forbid Magnus see her room; he'd be redecorating the entire apartment to look the same way.  
"What's up?" She was fastening her gear, her golden whip laced around her wrist. She must be getting ready to patrol.  
"You going out?" Alec nodded toward her black attire.  
She nodded. "Mom wanted Clary and I to check out something down on third. A disturbance in the force." She'd started using even more references the longer she spent time with Simon. She held her stele out to him. Alec stepped forward and started to draw an agility rune onto her shoulder blade. He chewed on his bottom lip as he concentrated.  
"Okay, what's up?"  
His eyes met hers in the mirror, eyebrow raised.  
"Come on, Alec. That's your guilty face. You used in when you ruined my eyeliner when you tried to use it that one time."  
Alec shuddered at the memory. Jace would never let him live that one down. "Well, I did want to talk to you about something," He set the stele down, and sat back on her bed, moving a possibly lethal high heel out of his way.  
She spun in her chair and looked at him, dark eyes wide.  
"Magnus and I are, uh." He scratched his head. "Talking about getting married," He muttered in a rush.  
Isabelle exhaled loudly, setting a hand on her chest. "God, don't do that. You had me thinking something terrible happened." But she recovered quickly, and let out a high pitched squeal which made Alec wince. Izzy jumped off the chair and sat next to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing. "Oh, Alec. I am so happy!" He closed his eyes and rested his chin on her shoulder, his own arms holding her back. "You guys are so perfect together, you know I've always thought that."  
"I know," He replied quietly.  
"When? Where? Can I help plan?" She pulled back and looked at him, eyes sparkling.  
Alec breathed a laugh at her eagerness. "I don't know. It's not even official yet. He wants to ask me after my birthday, I think."  
"Oh my God, that is so cute," Isabelle set back and curled her leg under herself. She grabbed his hand. "This is good,"  
"Yeah,"  
Isabelle then made a face. "I wish Max was here. He'd be so excited for you."  
Alec looked to the floor, his jaw clenched. He tried not to think about his little brother too often, or else he'd be paralyzed with pain every hour of the day. He knew that Max really looked up to Jace, but Alec was still his big brother, and he still missed him with every fiber of his being.  
After Alec convinced Isabelle not to tell anyone except Jace, since he already knew, he slipped out her door, and headed down the hall.

It was almost seven when Jace completely threw in the towel on helping Simon choose a name. Their top three choices so far were: Blacktree, Hightail, and Nightwell. Even though Simon had complained that none of these were 'badass' enough. Alec had come up with the last one, and he actually kinda liked it. He was currently stabbing at a pan of reheated noodles in Magnus's kitchen. He was sitting on the flamingo bar stool, flipping through a home shopping network catalog that Magnus had left on the counter. Magnus was finishing up with a client in the living room, and Alec was trying to occupy himself. He ate a bite of the noodles, and then pushed the container away. He glanced up, and saw the picture again. The looks of happiness on their faces still took his breath away. Alec stood and walked over to it, then picked it up, rubbing his thumb along the frame. It really had been a wonderful night, the wedding. He still remembered the words his father had told him. Even though the pain wasn't totally gone, the acceptance made the paper cuts hurt, a little less. A weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, and his breath came out just a little bit easier. He set the picture back on the shelf, just as Magnus walked in the kitchen. His black hair was spiked up, and he had on a multicolor suit coat.  
"Well, this one's gonna be a bundle of joy." He grumbled, sitting on the stool, picking up the fork and jabbing a noodle. Alec leaned against the sink, crossing his arms.  
"Tough client?"  
Magnus rolled his eyes. "Always. Anyway," He clapped his hands together. "I wanted to talk to you about your birthday."  
Alec felt his eyes widen.  
"Calm down, that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about your actual birthday celebration. I wanted to do something special."  
Alec knew what Magnus's idea of special could entail and he was slightly frightened. "…What did you have in mind?"  
"Well," Magnus chewed a noodle as he thought. "I had a few ideas." He snapped his fingers and a piece of paper appeared on the island and Magnus picked up, and then cleared his throat. "One: Midnight cosmic bowling downtown. I thought we could all get matching jerseys."  
"No."  
"Fine. Two: A birthday bash and concert in Central Par-"  
"No."  
Magnus glared at him. "Three: Dinner with the usual suspects at _Dante's._" He set the paper back down on the counter. Alec pushed himself off the sink and leaned over the space between them, placing a light kiss on Magnus's mouth.  
"I think that sounds perfect."  
"My word, you're boring at times. Are you sure you don't want to go cow tipping or something? Ooh, or we could act out the Rocky Horror picture show!"  
"I'm positive." Alec grinned at him.  
"You don't think I could pull off Frank N Futer?"  
"I have no idea who that is."  
"We really need to start your pop culture education."

***Kay so, I literally got a copy of the Codex today, so yay! Anyway, I hope that everyone is enjoying! Thank you so much for all of the views and follows! –heart-***


	6. Chapter 6

There were five days until Alec's birthday, and as each day passed he felt like his skin was itching and his breath coming faster and the nerves in his stomach were going to consume him. Magnus had already made the reservation at _Dante's_, and the 'usual suspects' were all attending; Jace and Clary, and Isabelle and Simon. It did sound perfect to Alec. The people he loved most all together.  
A knock on the door made Alec look up. He'd been strapping his boot; all dressed in black gear. The door opened and a blond head poked in the room.  
"Ready?" Jace asked. He and Alec were going out to patrol this evening. Alec nodded, then held his stele out to the younger boy.  
"Can you give me a speed?"  
Jace gripped the elongated silver wand and began to draw on Alec's forearm, making him squint at the sting. He remembered the first time Jace had tried to draw a rune on him. Alec had been twelve, and Jace was practicing drawing Marks so Alec let him use his arm as a blank canvas. Jace had attempted a deflect rune, and Alec had grumbled instructions about how to press the hot instrument onto the skin so that the pain was less. Alec had always felt the need to teach his younger siblings. He was the oldest; the one placed in charge. He grew into his protective nature as easily as slipping on a glove.  
Alec looked down at Jace now, who was admiring his handy work. Alec slid his crossbow onto his arm, and then they departed.

"Well, this alley's dead. Literally." Jace sniffed the air. "I think something actually died down there."  
"I'm not surprised," Alec commented, looking around. They were in a pretty sketchy part of town. "Come on, let's keep moving."  
They parted around an old woman pushing a shopping cart full of cans, but she didn't even know they were there thanks to the glamour.  
Jace kicked a rock as they walked down a sidewalk, Alec's sensor sitting silent in his hand. "So," Jace broke the silence between them. "How goes wedding plans?"  
Alec grimaced. "It's not official. There aren't any plans."  
"Oh, come on. This is Magnus we're talking about. The most fabulous person I have encountered in my entire life. He probably has a giant notebook somewhere bursting with wedding plans." Jace grinned. "I bet he even has 'Wedding to Aleckins,' written on the cover, with those big sparkly gel pens."  
"He has never once called me that."  
"Whatever. I think he's gonna come down the aisle riding an elephant. Or possibly an ostrich,"  
"He hasn't even officially asked me yet," Alec pointed out as they crossed a busy intersection.  
"Yeah, Simon and I have a bet about how he's going to ask."  
"Wait," Alec paused. "Simon knows?" His eyebrows came together.  
Jace made a face. "You really think Iz was gonna keep this a secret? She's bouncing her own ideas for your wedding off of him."  
Alec groaned.  
"Anyway, Simon thinks that Magnus will jump out of cake, and serenade you with an incredibly cheesy love song."  
Alec winced as he dogged a telephone pole. "I hope not," He muttered.  
"I said that he was gonna get one of those giant puzzles that will spell out 'Will You Marry Me?' and you two will put it together and you'll get all sappy and cry when you say yes," Jace bumped into Alec's shoulder, a smirk on his face.  
"You guys have thought about this way too much." Alec frowned.  
"Eh, we were bored going through the Codex yesterday. You know, that thing can get pretty damn wordy." Jace hadn't even realized that Alec wasn't still next to him. "Alec?" He turned and looked at the dark haired boy, who had a finger up to his lips, holding his flashing sensor in his palm. Jace silently drew a seraph blade from the sheath across his back and named it. He stepped up to Alec, eyes scanning the alley they were standing in.  
Suddenly, a movement ahead of them made both boys look up. A tall, sickly pale, scaly creature was standing at the end of the alley; it was cornered. It had giant, long arms that had tentacles placed along them – it looked oddly like an octopus out of water.  
"Raum," Jace whispered, feet placed in a fighting stance.  
It turned and looked at them through giant, dish sized black eyes. It's mouth was open, and a small sound was omitting from it. Jace stepped forward, as Alec drew his crossbow. They moved down the alley, the demon starting to realize it was trapped, started making louder sounds, crying out in distress. Jace lunged forward. The demon whipped its long arms around and almost made contact with Jace's leg, before an arrow shot out and stabbed it, making the creature cry out. With the one arm down, Jace was able to get close enough to stab the demon straight in the heart.  
He grinned down at it, as the demon crumpled to the ground, and slowly vanishing. "Nice shot," He turned to thank Alec, but his eyes widened. "Look out!"  
Alec turned just in time to see another white, tentacle covered creature come hurtling into the alleyway, and raised his weapon. The Raum demon made a direct line, for Alec, but he shot any arrow out, but just missed the heart. He cursed, and loaded another arrow faster than light. Jace raised his sword and started toward the second demon, but he was too far, and Alec was a hair too late. The demon reached out and caressed Alec's arm, before Jace stabbed it. He watched it disappear, then looked over his shoulder. His heart sank. Alec's face had gone white, and he was leaning against the wall, his feet slowly sliding out in front of him.  
"Hey, hey, no," Jace hurried to him, slipping an arm around his waist. "Come on, stay with me, Alec,"  
Alec felt his head clouding. He wanted to sleep. That's all. Just curl up, here on the ground of the alley, and take a nice long nap. He didn't even feel any pain. "Dammit, Alec!"  
Alec let his eyes close.

He thought he was dreaming. Because he was in Magnus's apartment, instead of the cold alleyway. He didn't feel any pain, didn't feel anything, really. He remembered that he took too long, even though Jace had given him a speed rune, and he sighed. He was sitting on the couch, which was just a simple gray couch today. The entire apartment looked different, actually, as he looked around. There were pictures hung on the walls of people he didn't know, even though they looked slightly familiar. He was confused.  
"Magnus?" He called out. The apartment felt empty. He stood, and stepped quietly into the bedroom, where he saw Magnus sitting on the side of the bed, his head in his hands. Alec frowned. Why was he upset? He moved into the room, and knelt down in front of the warlock.  
"Magnus?" He repeated, much quieter this time.  
He reached up and pulled his hands away from his face. Magnus's green eyes were wet and sparkling. Alec could feel concern filling his entire being. "What's wrong?"  
Magnus sighed, and slowly met his eyes. "You died today."  
Alec blinked. "No, I didn't. I'm right here."  
Magnus closed his eyes. "You did."  
The younger boy let his hands fall and he sat back on his heels. "What are you talking about?"  
"You're eighty seven." Magnus said quietly. What? No. He was turning nineteen in less than a week, Magnus must have been confused. But then he noticed that Magnus was wearing a simple, silver band on the third finger of his left hand. Alec felt his heart constrict in his chest. "And you passed away in your sleep, Alexander."  
Alec couldn't believe what he was hearing. His mouth was dry, and he couldn't even think of the first question to ask. Then the words tumbled out. "We got married?" They were hardly even a whisper.  
Magnus blinked slowly. And smiled, reaching a hand out to brush it through Alec's hair, and curl his finger around his ear, just like Alec had always loved. "We did," He breathed.  
Alec exhaled.  
"And we were so happy," Magnus swallowed. "So happy, Alec,"  
He was flying.  
Magnus reached forward until their foreheads touched softly. And he spoke the words that Alec needed to hear most of all in the world. "I don't regret _one single second_…"

"Alec? Open your eyes, love."  
A dull ache was settling into his arm and Alec winced, as he slowly opened his eyes. A bright light was hanging above him, and Alec had to blink a few times. He felt cool hands on his forehead. And heard noises by the side of his head. Hushed voices. Something moved into his line of sight, and he saw Isabelle's dark hair fall in waves around her face.  
"Oh, Alec, by the Angel," She reached out and placed a hand on his face. He tried to smile at her, but she wasn't what he needed right now. She wasn't the lifeline that he was looking for. And suddenly, the dream, or vision, or whatever the hell it was came back to him. His heart sped up, and he felt a panic take a hold of his body. He was slipping away again. But he had to see, had to tell…

Green eyes filled his vision and he couldn't have looked away even if he tried. He stared up, as the sleep tried to tear him away from his body once again.  
"We've got to stop meeting like this," Magnus said softly, both of his hands placed against Alec's hot, flushed cheeks.  
"Magnus," Alec choked out.  
"Shh,"  
"I saw," He sucked in a breath. His eyes were closing. "I saw-"  
"It was a dream," Manus tried to reassure him.  
Alec tried to shake his head, but darkness fell over him, and he slipped into unconsciousness with a question still on his lips.

***Hello! I just wanted to quickly say that I have been writing these chapters at night before bed, and then uploading them right away – so there are typos and errors and stuff, and I apologize for that. I usually look my work over better, but I'm often half asleep at that point. So sorry! But on a different note, thank you so much for the reviews! You have no idea how much they encourage me to keep up the writing! See you tomorrow night! Hope you enjoyed! –heart-* **


	7. Chapter 7

The darkness was suffocating him, but he couldn't manage to open his eyes. The pain in his arm was mostly gone, but the demon poison in his veins still made his head pound and sleep captivate him. He'd wake every now and then, realize that someone was sitting on the bed next to him, rubbing circles on his hand, then pass out again. He didn't have any more dreams. He didn't have any more visions. He just sat in the darkness and waited for his body to heal.

"I swear to the Angel, Jace, if you don't shut up I'm kicking you out." Isabelle's voice seeped into Alec's ears as he woke silently, keeping his eyes closed.  
"What?" Jace responded, sounding sarcastically exasperated, if possible. "I'm not doing anything,"  
"You are drumming your fingers on the table. And you know that drives me insane."  
Alec heard Jace sigh. He made a snarky reply. But Alec was asleep again before he could hear it.

A thin, higher pitched voice was reading. The words weren't familiar, but Alec liked listening to the lull of the sentences wash over him. A tale of a boy and a girl and a castle. In a faraway land with a name he couldn't pronounce. Clary stopped reading, and he felt a cover being draped over his arms, and he tried not to wince as it touched his newly healing arm. He heard a rustle as she picked the book back up, and began to read again.

A memory. That's what must have been happening, because he heard his mother's voice, just above a whisper, singing. The French fell from her lips so easily, and he thought about nightmares and being eight and scared of the dark. He swallowed, as he felt her cool, thin hand pushing his hair off of his forehead. He didn't want to move a muscle, afraid that she would stop and leave. He left his eyes closed, and listened to the lyrics that didn't make any sense, but he felt them in his bones.

A chair scrapped the stone floor. "Hey. So, uh, I know that we haven't talked much. And I don't think that we used to talk too much before. But, I just wanted, you know, you to know that we're all here…oh, God, this sounds so cheesy, okay. We're here, and if you feel like waking up, that'd be sorta awesome. Because everyone's kinda freaked out, and stuff. Especially Magnus. I mean, he actually used my real name, so I know he's wigged. So, yeah. Um. Over and out."

"Alexander," The breath on his ear tickled. "Wake up," A sigh. "_Please_."  
Alec wanted to reach out a hand and reassure the man, but he couldn't get his eyelids to corporate. So he listened to the whispers Magnus placed over him.  
"When I first saw you that night, I felt as if I were being struck by lightning." He chuckled. "You had such a striking resemblance to Will, at first I thought his ghost had walked into my apartment." Circles on his open palm. "Then I watched your eyes, the way you felt so out of place. The way you looked at Jace, thinking you loved him. The way you looked at me," He stopped. Cleared his throat. "I think I've loved you ever since that first night. I fall in love easily, this is true, but it was different." Fingers on his forehead. Breathed his name. Alec screamed at himself to wake up. Tell him he loved him, too. One more whisper. "_Happy birthday, Alec."_

The medical wing of the Institute was dark when his lids finally opened. A witchlight stone burned next to his bed, his eyes scanned the room until they fell on the figure sitting on the chair asleep next to his bed. He glanced down at his arm; it was completely healed, thanks to Magnus. Alec felt his stomach rumble, a sudden hunger overtaking him. How long had he been asleep? He had no clue what day it was, what time it was; he felt like a coma victim waking up. He pushed himself up, slowly, moving his neck in circles to loosen the tightness that had built up. Memories of the first time he'd woken up like this washed over him. When the demon at Clary's old apartment had attacked him. He remembered Jace, and Isabelle holding onto him in the back of that beat up van. His insides on fire. The pain then had been so much worse, he'd passed out before they'd gotten back to the Institute. When he'd opened his eyes, green, feline eyes had been looking down at him. It was the first time Alec had been so close to him. The first time he'd felt his hands on him. The first time he'd heard whispered words. His heart squeezed, just thinking about it. He opened his mouth.

"Magnus?"  
The sleeping figure woke with a jolt, head snapping back and feet stomping on the ground. Bright eyes blinked at him, and it was stupid, and not the right time, but Alec didn't care. He motioned him forward, and as soon as Alec could reach him, he gripped the sides of his face and pulled him to him. His lips were always so warm, and he tasted like peppermint, and Alec wanted to sink into him and never leave. Magnus pulled back, and set his forehead on Alec's, breathing shakily.  
"Alec," He whispered.  
"I'm awake." He didn't know what else to say.  
Magnus chuckled, low in his throat, tracing a finger along Alec's cheekbone. "I can see that," He sat back, sighing. "Are you in any pain?"  
He shook his head. "I'm hungry."  
Magnus smiled softly, then snapped his finger, and a small sandwich appeared on the bed side table. He handed it to Alec, who gratefully took a bite. Both were silent as he chewed, leaning back on the pillows. A few moments later, only crumbs sitting on the plate, Alec took a drink of water from the cup that was already on the table.  
Magnus was watching him silently, eyes guarded.  
"What?" Alec asked. No response. "What is today?"  
A pause. "Your birthday."  
His eyes widened. "You're kidding." He hadn't been asleep that long, had he? And suddenly, his dream came back to him. He reached up a hand and ran it over his face, sighing deeply.  
"What's wrong?"  
He had to tell him. But the question was, could he find the right words? "I had a dream," He said quietly. Magnus leaned his elbows on the bed, listening. "That, I was dead." A sharp inhale. "I was older, and, you were crying." A pause. "We were married." Another pause. "And you," Alec swallowed, emotion rising in his throat that he desperately wanted to push down."You told me," His eyes went to the ceiling. Then closed them. "That you didn't regret a single second." No response. The room was deathly quiet; the only sound was the two of them breathing. The rest of the Institute must have been asleep. Finally, Alec felt like he was going to explode. "Say something," he begged, softly. One beat. Two. A thousand.  
"What do you want me to say?"  
Alec's eyes flew open, and for some unexplainable reason, anger flared in his stomach. "I want you to say that you hate this. That you hate that there is an unavoidable void between the two of us that we'll never be able to erase. That you hate that whatever we do, it will always end up one way: with me gone and you left alone. I want you to say that you hate this down in the core of your being because I know that I sure as hell do." He licked his lips. Magnus was silent, emotion playing across his face. "And I want you to say that you hate that none of that matters. Because it doesn't. Because at the end of the day, you're all I want in this world." He clenched his fists, sheets in his grip. "I want you to say that you won't have any regrets. That you won't end up screaming on a mattress in some city. I want you to say that you'll love me. Because I will always, _always_ love you." The last words came out hushed and he was gasping and he felt like he'd just poured his heart over both of them, and it was seeping off of the bed and dripping onto the floor. He looked up and met his eyes.  
His mouth was parted, eyes narrowed slightly. Then he whispered "Alec…was that a proposal?"

When he was nine and Isabelle jumped from a too high beam, he carried her to the medical wing. When Jace burned himself on the stove, he wrapped his hand in bandages. When Max cut himself on a dagger, he had whispered reassurances and promises that everything would be okay.  
He hadn't killed a demon for most of his life; because he was so busy watching out for his siblings. So busy making sure that no harm came to those that he loved. That was all that he'd really cared about for a majority of his life. Then this strange creature waltzed into his life, trailing glitter, and Alec had never been the same. He'd struck down demons just to keep him alive, he'd been willing to travel to another realm to save him, he'd grown and aged, he'd fallen in love. And he realized that still all that he cared about was making sure that those he loved would be safe. That those he'd loved would never be hurt, would never be scared, would never be left alone.

He clenched his jaw. And slowly reached out and picked up Magnus's hand. The touch was home, and he knew in his bones that this was right. He might be stealing Magnus's moment, but he knew that neither of them cared. Neither of them breathed. And in the darkness, Alec opened his mouth and said the six words that he knew would forever change his life. And he couldn't wait.

"Magnus Bane, will you marry me?"


	8. Chapter 8

"You mean he didn't get to jump out of a cake?!"  
Simon, Jace, Clary, and Isabelle were seated and standing around Alec's bed. He was still in the medical wing; it was the morning after he'd woken up and changed his life. Alec laughed under his breath, and looked down at his hands; Isabelle had a hold of one and was squeezing it.  
"No, he didn't."  
Simon made a face, then looked at Jace. "We were both wrong."  
Jace shrugged. "Don't worry. I'll get your money some other way, Nightwell." Simon grinned at the sound of his new name.  
"It just sounds so romantic," Clary smiled at Alec.  
"I think it's sorta depressing. I mean, have you seen it in here at night?" Jace looked around, indicating the Institute medical wing. "It's creepy."  
Clary slapped his arm; her green eyes squinted in a frown. "Shut up, Jace,"  
"I mean, I'd have a least gotten flowers."  
"It was spur of the moment." Alec smirked. "I didn't really have access to flowers,"  
"Don't listen to them," Isabelle tugged his sleeve. "I think it sounded perfect."

"Magnus Bane, will you marry me?"  
Cat eyes blinked. And he reached forward and crashed his mouth to Alec's.  
"_Yes, yes, yes_," He murmured over and over.  
Alec's heart was soaring out of his chest. He felt like he would fly away if Magnus hadn't been holding on to him. His fingers gripped the collar on Magnus's, dragging him as close as he could. But he would never be close enough. He couldn't breathe but he didn't care. Magnus tugged on his hair, a noise low in the back of his throat. He groaned when Alec pulled back. He placed his forehead against the warlock's, as they both caught their breath, hearts running marathons.  
A weight was gone from his shoulders, he felt as free as a bird. All those times when they weren't together, all that time fighting about immortality and morality, the stupid jealously, it was like it was being snipped away. Alec didn't think he could even actually feel this happy. When he realized how he felt about life, he had felt so ashamed. He'd wanted to hide from the world. He was terrified of the looks he'd get, of the names he'd hear, of the life he'd been dealt to live. But in this moment, it made everything worth it.  
"Yes?" Alec asked shyly, looking into his eyes.  
"…yes." Magnus kissed him softly once more.  
"I know you wanted to ask me but," A finger pressed up against his lips and Alec shut up.  
"In all my years," Magnus took a deep breath. "I could never have imagined a more perfect proposal."  
It was so stupid, but Alec could feel himself start to blush. "Thanks," he mumbled.  
Magnus chuckled. "You're welcome," he breathed. "Although now I'll have to cancel the mariachi band I had hired."  
Alec groaned and leaned his head against Magnus's neck. "You wouldn't have," He grumbled.  
"You'll never know."

"Happy late birthday, by the way," Jace said, jumping up to sit on the table at the end of Alec's bed. "You were sorta unconscious yesterday, so I didn't really get to wish it to you then." He dug in his jean pocket, and flipped a small package out to Alec, who reached up and caught it midair. His brow furrowed.  
"You didn't have to get me anything,"  
"Well, I didn't technically buy it, so don't feel bad."  
The others had left Alec to get some rest after all the excitement last night, and this morning when they told everyone. But Jace had stayed behind. Alec tugged the newspaper off of the small gift, and his eyes widened when the small, compact dagger fell onto his palm. Initials were on the hilt. _AL_.  
"It was the first thing you ever gave me when I came to live here," Jace kicked his dangling legs out in front of himself. "We were in the training room one day, practicing throwing, and you told me to keep that to practice." He nodded toward the dagger. "I worked with it every day, and finally got the hang of it. Thought it was about time to give it back."  
Alec smiled at him. "Thanks, Jace,"  
"Don't get mushy on me, now," Jace smirked. "Consider it an engagement gift too,"  
"Oh, yeah," Alec snorted. "I can see Magnus loving to use this to cut his sushi."  
"Whatever floats his boat."

When he woke up from a nap, there was someone unexpected sitting next to his bed. Two someones.  
"Mom? Dad?" He sat up, blinking.  
"Hello, son," It'd been awhile since Robert Lightwood had seen his son. The last time was at Luke and Jocelyn's wedding, where he'd given Alec the words he'd needed to hear.  
"You feeling better?" Maryse sat down by his legs, reaching out a hand to his forehead.  
"Yeah, I'm fine," He frowned. "What's wrong?" Why were they both here?  
Maryse sighed. "We wanted to talk to you about Magnus."  
His eyes widened.  
"It's okay," Maryse smiled, noting Alec's panic. "We know. We've known for a while, actually."  
"Wha-what?"  
"He came to see me." Maryse looked over at Robert. "Last week."  
The day he was at the Institute. Alec should have realized he was up to something.  
"And, we both agree that you're young." _Oh no._ "But," she wet her lips. "We trust you, Alec. You've grown to be a responsible, reliable, honest man. And we are so proud of you," She gently touched his cheek.  
"Both of us." Robert added, quietly.  
Alec didn't know what to say.  
"I already gave Magnus my blessing. But I wanted to give it to you." She pulled both of his hands together in hers; even though his were much larger now, he remembered when she did this when he was little and both of his hands fit inside of hers.  
"…Thank you," He whispered to the both of them. His heart was soaring.

Maryse decided that Alec was healed and well rested enough; she released him from the medical wing and let him move down to his own bedroom. He opened the door, and stepped inside. The walls were bare, as he'd always kept it. He glanced at the mirror in the corner of the room. His arm was completely healed from the demon attack; just some thin scares from the healing runes. His messy hair was getting longer; it was almost reaching his shoulders. He'd have to ask Isabelle to cut it soon. He sighed and laid back on the bed, resting the heels of his palms against his eyes. He couldn't wait till tonight. Magnus had to leave to meet with his client, even though he'd persisted that he didn't have to go. Alec made him, though. He didn't want Magnus to miss work because of him; he'd already done that enough over the last few months.  
He showered, changed clothes, then padded barefoot down the hall to the kitchen. Simon was sitting at the counter, a bowl of cereal in front of him, the Codex propped open.  
"Hey," they nodded at each other.  
Alec grabbed a bowl from one of the cabinets, and poured himself a bowl of cereal. He leaned against the counter, and took a bite. He nodded toward to Codex.  
"How goes studying?"  
Simon sighed. "I have more than half the Marks down."  
"Lucky your best friend happens to be an expert on them," Alec pointed out.  
"This is true," Simon grinned, pushing his glasses up his nose.  
"Anything I can help with?" He was bored and didn't feel like training. Maryse would be on his case not to push it for the next few days after his injury. Simon pulled him into the library, and they spent the rest of the afternoon quizzing each other on different Shadow World terms. Before Alec knew it, it was almost six. He said his goodbyes to Simon, and grabbed his jacket, and was out the door. He waved down a bright yellow taxi, and rode it to the apartment. He used his key to open the door, and slipped silently inside. Everything had a yellow tint in the living room. He could hear Magnus muttering in the bedroom. Kicking off his boots, Alec called out his name. Magnus strode out, green sparkly robe around his shoulders, and planted a quick kiss on Alec's cheek before he headed into the kitchen.  
"Hello, fiancé,"  
Alec scrunched up his nose. "That sounds weird."  
"It sounds perfect." Magnus's voice called from inside the refrigerator. He reemerged holding two glass bottles, and handed one to Alec. "I figured we needed to celebrate,"  
Alec took a sip, and coughed. "God. What's in this?"  
Magnus looked at the label-it was written in a different language. "Not sure. I won it in a poker match from some vampires a few years ago. It'll get you buzzed." He said, taking a sip.  
"Trying to get me liquored up?" Alec snorted.  
"Oh, hush. Anyway, I wanted to show you something." He left the room for a moment, and then returned holding a small scrapbook. Alec instantly recognized it. He'd made it. It was full of pictures and memories of the trip they'd taken together last fall. He'd forgotten about it after the fight and break up, and he grinned seeing it now.  
"Where the hell did you find that?"  
"In the back of my closet under my go-go boots."  
Alec didn't ask. He flipped open the book, and was greeted with a picture of the two of them standing under the Eifel Tower.  
"This is a good picture,"  
"Mmm, here," Magnus turned a few pages. "This is what I wanted you to see."  
There were post cards pasted onto the pages, and Alec looked at them.  
"Oh, no."  
"Oh, yes."  
They were from the conversations that Isabelle, Alec and Magnus had shared about their wedding. Alec laughed looking over them. He snorted at the _'ABORT! ABORT!'_  
"How far we've come." He chuckled, slipping his hand into Magnus's.  
"I still like the idea of an autumn themed wedding."  
"Okay, maybe we haven't come that far."

***Eeeeee, thank you so much for the reviews! They were all so amazing, and they made my day, so much. So, I really hope everyone likes the story. As you can most likely tell, Alec has always been one of my very favorite's, and I love how much he grew up in CoHF, so I wanted to convey that a little in my story. Like I said before, there are typos and mistakes and stuff, and I apologize for that. But thank you so much for reading! See you tomorrow! –heart- * **


	9. Chapter 9

"I refuse to walk down the aisle to _Stairway to Heaven_."  
"You have no musical taste, whatsoever."  
It had been almost two weeks since Alec had proposed, and Magnus and Isabelle had turned the apartment into Wedding Planning Central. Catalogs were spread on the coffee table, fabric swatches laid over the couch, you name it – it was there. Alec and Chairman Meow were currently trying to fit on the couch, both wearing matching disgruntled faces. Magnus was sitting cross-legged on the floor, a binder open on his lap. His hair was a mess, and last night's makeup was still smudged under his eyes. Alec had never seen him quite so alive as he had been these past few days. He was vibrant, and shining, and sometimes Alec couldn't even look at him without a stupid smile growing on his face. Alec took a sip of his coffee, trying to avoid being buried alive in an avalanche of pieces of fabric; which he had no idea what they were for. Magnus had cornered him this morning to help make some decisions. Alec perfectly preferred to stay out of the majority of the wedding planning; that wasn't what was important to him. It was one day. What he wanted was the rest of the life after that day. But, this is Magnus we were talking about, and it was a chance to throw a giant party.  
"Would you consider Prince?"  
"Who?"  
Magnus flipped the binder shut and pushed it off his lap. "I give up."  
An idea came to Alec. "What if we had Jace play something?"  
Magnus turned his head to the side, thinking. "I surprising like the idea of that." He said.  
"I can ask him later," Alec took another sip. "We were gonna take Simon out patrolling. He has his Ascension next month, and he's trying to get as much training as possible in."  
"He's really come a long way," Magnus leaned back on his palms. "I'm proud of him."  
"I think everyone is." He looked at his watch, then pouted at Magnus. "Can I go now?"  
Magnus shook his head, a small smile on his face. "I just have one more question."  
Alec stood carefully, Chairman moved over and replaced him in his warm seat. "Yeah?" Alec padded into the kitchen, and set the empty mug in the sink.  
" Where would you like to have the ceremony?"  
Alec leaned against the doorframe, eyebrows raised. "Uh, the Institute? I guess?"  
"I was thinking," Magnus looked over at him. "We could technically get married here, according to the Codex. Or," His eyes sparkled. "We could go to Idris."  
The thought had never even entered Alec's mind. "Seriously?"  
Magnus shrugged. "Yeah. It's up to you."  
Alec scratched the back of his head. "I like that idea. But isn't it still pretty destroyed from the Dark War?"  
"I talked to some friends from there the other night. They said that the renovations have been going swimmingly. So, just think about it."  
Alec grinned. "I will."

"I am not wearing orange velvet."  
"I never said you had to!"  
"But I remember an orange velvet tux. And I mean, I like you, man, but I'm not stooping to that."  
"That was technically all Isabelle," Alec pointed out to Simon, who was leaning against the wall of the Institute.  
"I don't care."  
"I think we're all on agreement that there shall be no velvet." Jace said from his perch on one of the benches in the courtyard behind the church, he was on his back, twirling a small knife on his fingers. The three of them had just returned from a patrol and were still dressed up in their gear. They'd decided to hang out in the courtyard since the weather was nice and warm out. Summer was officially there, and Alec had shed his black jacket. He was sitting on the grass, his crossbow sitting on the ground next to him. He'd been thinking a lot about what Magnus had asked him earlier that morning; and to tell the truth, he really liked the idea of having the wedding in Idris. It was where he'd been born, spent the first few years of his life. That's where he had his beginning, and he wanted to share his and Magnus's beginning there too. It was cheesy, but he didn't care.  
"Hey," He reached up and nudged Jace's foot, which was the closest he could reach. "Would you be willing to play at the wedding? Like you did at Luke and Jocelyn's?"  
Jace looked down at him, gold eyes wide. "Seriously?" Alec nodded. "Yeah," Jace sat up. "I'd be honored."  
Alec snorted.  
"No, I really would. I will. Thanks for asking," Jace grinned and laid back down, the knife starting to twirl once more.  
"Good."  
"When's this gonna be?" Simon asked.  
Alec shrugged. "We haven't set a date yet. Why?"  
Simon looked down. "I just want to make sure I'm there," he trailed off.  
Jace sat back up. "Are you worried about your Ascension?"  
"Wouldn't you be?" Simon asked.  
Jace opened his mouth, most likely to make a comment along the lines of 'I'm so awesome, the Clave would have to let me in,' but Alec cut him off. "Simon, you don't have anything to worry about. You've been studying for months. And, even though you don't remember everything, you've been around all of this for a lot longer."  
Simon smiled shyly at him. "You think?"  
"We know." Jace said.

The Institute was quiet. Alec was sitting in the library, witchlight lighting the page he was reading. It was late, but he was caught up in the book and didn't even notice. He started a little when a hand touched his shoulder.  
"Oh, hi," He looked up at Magnus, who had applied fresh eyeliner and glitter since this morning.  
"Hi yourself," Magnus grinned, sitting down on the chair across from Alec. "What are you reading?"  
Alec held up the notebook, and Magnus raised an eyebrow.  
"You're reading it again?"  
"I love reading it," Alec skimmed his fingers over the spine. He was starting to wear it out, he'd read it so many times. It was the stories that Magnus had written down about his life; he'd given it to him when he asked Alec to take him back. And Alec had jumped. And he'd never regretted it once.  
"Maybe I should publish it," Magnus joked.  
Alec changed the subject. "I was thinking about Idris."  
"And?"  
Alec smiled. "I like the idea a lot."  
"I'd hoped you'd say that," Magnus leaned forward, resting his elbows on the armrest of the chair.  
"I also talked to Jace, and he said he'd be happy to play."  
"Sounds like things are coming together," Mayse said as she walked into the library. Alec was a little surprised at how well his parents seemed to be taking all of this. But, he was thankful.  
"Yeah," He said to her. She had her arms curled around herself, and she looked tired. The divorce was final now. And Alec knew that it really was better this way. His parents would always love each other, but they couldn't be married anymore. Alec knew that they worried about him taking this step since he was still young, since they noted that that was one of their problems, but he knew that he was different. He wasn't worried.  
"What did you say about Jace?" She asked.  
"He's willing to play the piano at the ceremony." Alec responded.  
"Which will be in Idris." Magnus added, a small grin playing on his lips.  
Maryse widened her eyes. "Really?"  
Alec nodded. "We just decided, actually."  
"Oh, that's wonderful," She said quietly, true happiness on her face.  
"And I found the perfect velvet suits for the boys to wear," Magnus said.

To which was met with a bellow of "NO" from somewhere across the Institute.

***It's almost to the end! I know this was sorta short, but the next chapter should be much longer. I've had so much fun with this story, and I hope you've enjoyed the ride with me. Please let me know what you've thought, I'd love to know. –major hearts- ***


	10. Epilogue

Three Months Later

The sun was shining, and the breeze was cool against Alec's face. He was standing, looking out across Lake Lyn. The colors of the water glittered in the light, the waves crashing softly to the shore as the wind blew. Alec remembered standing in this exact spot when he was young, before they left for New York. Maryse had been pregnant with Isabelle, and Alec still hadn't quite gotten used to the idea of having a sibling. Leaving Idris was the worst thing imaginable in his mind at that time, and he grinned now at the memory of the fit he'd thrown when his parents had told him that they were taking charge of the New York Institute. He kicked a small rock forward, and watched as it tumbled forward and landed in the shallow water. A bird soared over his head, and let out a long call. The trees along the shoreline, and leading up into the forest were starting to change color as autumn fell over the land. Alec drew his left hand up and twisted the new silver band that would never leave his touch. It didn't look out of place, and it fit him perfectly. He smiled as he let the memories of the afternoon wash over him. It was getting later out, and the sun was beginning to set over the water; it was truly a beautiful sight. He heard someone walking up behind him, and turned to see Jace, a large grin on his face.  
"Congratulations," He said as he reached Alec, and gave him an affectionate pat on the back. The two stood side by side, looking out over the water.  
Alec breathed a "Thanks," a stupid grin plastered all over his face. "You're playing was perfect, by the way."  
"Well, what did you expect?" Jace smirked, rocking on his heels with his hands stuck in his pockets. He had indeed not ended up wearing velvet. Or plaid. Or anything too weird. Just a simple black suit, with a thin black tie, which Alec assumed Clary had tied because it didn't look lopsided at all. "When does the party start?"  
Alec glanced at his watch. "Should be anytime, now. He wanted to make a dramatic entrance, so." He ran a hand through his hair. "I should probably head back."  
"I'll walk with ya," Jace flung a hand over Alec's shoulder as they both turned and headed toward the giant tent that Luke and some other werewolves had set up for them. "I do hope you realize," Jace commented. "That now that you've gone and tied the knot, everyone's gonna be looking at Iz, and me next."  
Alec snorted. "I'm sure Jocelyn can't wait."  
Jace let go of him and pushed him forward, and he laughed as he stumbled a few steps. Jace gave him a small, one handed salute, then headed in the opposite direction where Alec knew Clary, Isabelle, Simon, and some others were hanging out. Alec decided to follow; he had a few minutes to spare. The group was scattered around a table, and it made Alec's heart swell to see them all there for him. Jace spun the chair next to Clary around straddled it, swiping a cracker off of her plate. Isabelle and Simon were sitting next to each other, whispering to each other. Simon had changed so much since his Ascension. He wore his dark Marks on his arms proudly; he stood taller, prouder, and seemed surer of himself. Even when he had been a vampire, he'd always been a little awkward, but not anymore. He was adjusting to Nephilim life very well; he'd moved into the Institute, and he and Clary were preparing to become _parabatai_. He was wearing a suit just like Jace's, and Alec had to admit that they both pulled it off quite well. He was congratulated around the table.  
"I love your guy's suits," Clary smiled up at Alec, meaning the gold suits that he and Magnus were both wearing. Since it was traditional marriage color for Shadowhunters, Magnus had two suits made to match each other.  
"Yeah, I agree," Simon leaned back in his chair, one arm looped over the back of Isabelle's chair. "What do you say to sneaking off behind the tent later," He suggestively raised his eyebrows.  
Alec held up his hand. "Sorry. Taken."  
"Dammit." Simon let the chair come forward and he frowned. "I knew I missed my chance." Isabelle reached out a hand and scratched the side of his head lightly.  
"I wouldn't mind a trip behind the tent…"  
Simon looked at her, then said out of the side of his mouth "Never mind."  
Alec rolled his eyes.  
"Hey, I'm disappointed. You guys didn't walk down the aisle riding any barn yard animals." Jace pointed out.  
"Thank God," Clary said.

There was a smaller tent set up off to the side, and that's where Alec started toward, after he said his goodbyes to his friends. As he walked, people patted him on the shoulder, gave him congratulations, all sorts of other stuff that he just sort of brushed off with a quiet 'thank you' and a nod. A lot of people were extended family that he didn't really know, or people Magnus had invited. But there were a few that he knew. His father happened to be a part of one group. Alec looked at him, not really sure what to say. Robert looked down at his son and sighed.  
"I'm happy for you, son. I hope you can believe that."  
Alec swallowed, and then held out his hand. "I do." They shook.  
As he cleared the mass of people, one person stepped out toward him that he recognized. Even though he'd never spoken to her personally, he knew her from Magnus pointed her out at the last wedding, and from the picture in the apartment. Tessa was wearing a floor length dress, that was a very soft violet color, and her light hair was twisted up on top of her head. There were two pieces of jewelry that she donned, and it looked like both had been on her person for awhile, and had no intention of leaving. He reached her and she smiled shyly at him.  
"Hello, Alec,"  
"Hi," He stuck his hands in his pocket, awkwardly. "How was Paris?" He asked.  
"Oh, it was wonderful," Her voice was light, and she had a slight accent. "And that was a beautiful ceremony,"  
It really was. It hadn't been too over done in Alec's opinion, but Magnus had been happy with it. Twinkle lights had covered the entire ceiling of the tent, and white roses were everywhere you looked. Since it was a marriage between a Shadowhunter and a Downworlder, they'd taken certain measures. They simply exchanged rings instead of runes. They'd spoken simple vows to each other, and Alec knew that he would be embarrassed to see the pictures that people had snapped, because he'd had a huge smile on his face the entire time.  
"I'm no stranger to Shadowhunter Downworlder weddings," Tessa made a face like she had a secret.  
"You and Will, right?"  
"You know about Will," She didn't sound surprised.  
Alec almost snorted, and coughed instead. "Yeah, I know about Will. Not too much, but, yeah."  
"Magnus was fond of him. They were fond of each other, really," She sighed, and wrapped her arms around herself. Alec didn't know how to tell her that he'd spent many many nights filled with jealously at her husband. He wanted to change the subject.  
"I know that you had to worry about, when Will died, and I worry about the same thing. And," He didn't know how to get the words out. "I was wondering if," He looked off toward the small, enclosed tent where he knew he was. "If you'd look after him for me." He met her eyes.  
Tessa was quiet for a moment, then she nodded. "Magnus has always been there for me. And I will always be there for him." She stepped forward and took Alec's hand. "I promise, Alec. Now," She patted his hand, and wrinkled her nose as she smiled. "I think someone's waiting for you."

"Magnus?" He said as he stepped inside of the tent. Standing there, in front of a vanity mirror that he'd conjured, reapplying his eye makeup, stood Magnus Bane; High Warlock of Brooklyn, and most importantly… Alec's husband.  
He turned and looked at Alec. "Hi," He looked almost shy, and it made Alec want to kiss him.  
"Hi yourself," He smiled as he walked further into the room. The gold stood against Magnus's tan skin and it made him look warm all over. At least he'd gotten the autumn weather for the wedding. They'd traveled to Idris a week before to set everything up. They'd finally decided to set up the tent by the lake, because Magnus claimed that it would be the most photogenic. Alec didn't really care, he was just happy that everything was happening. "Are you almost ready?" He let his fingers rest on Magnus's back as the warlock turned back to the mirror.  
"Almost. Does this look okay?" He poked a certain spike in his hair.  
Alec rested his chin on his shoulder, and looked in the mirror at both of them. It suddenly reminded him of the picture. He grinned and whispered "It looks perfect." Then placed a soft kiss right under his ear.  
Magnus sighed. "I'm so happy. It seems ridicules. I didn't know I could be this happy,"  
Alec reached down and tugged Magnus's hand and pulled him away from the mirror. When he turned, Alec gripped his chin and pulled him into a deep kiss, and he felt Magnus almost melt against him. This. This was what Alec wanted, what he needed for the rest of his life. Magnus trailed his hands up Alec's back and traced the hair along his collar.  
"Alec," He breathed. "We need to go," Their foreheads were pressed against each other.  
Alec scrunched his nose. "Wanna go behind the tent and make out instead?"  
Magnus laughed. "I knew I married you for a reason."

All eyes were on them, but Alec didn't care. Hand in hand, they walked through the crowd of people, rings glittering on their hands. Someone somewhere announced their names, but Alec wasn't paying attention. They stepped onto the tile dance floor, and he pulled Magnus toward him. The warlock placed one hand on his back, and they gripped each other's other hand. He heard Jace start to play the piano in the background.  
"I love you," Magnus whispered to Alec, making him smile.

Then, they danced.

***Ta-da! I hope everyone has enjoyed this as much as I have! Thank you once more for reading. You're awesome.* **


	11. Chapter 11 (Bonus Chapter)

Magnus took a deep breath. One knock. Two.  
"Come in," A muffled voice responded through the door. He complied. "Magnus?" Maryse Lightwood looked up at him from her desk, dark eyes wide.  
"Hello, Maryse," He said quietly, a friendly smile on his face, a glamour on his eyes. His boots clicked on the stone floor as he stepped into the room, and sat in one of the chairs that faced her desk. Her dark hair was tied up in a bun, and her face looked slightly pinched, like she really needed a massage and a hard drink; not necessarily in that order. He propped his arms on the rests. "I am here to ask you for something."  
She smiled a little, and looked down. "Hasn't it been the other way around, lately?"  
"This is true. But you know that I am always willing to offer my services for you." Not her specifically, of course, but she got the jest."But, it's nothing like that."  
She placed her hands on the desk and looked him. "You have my attention."  
He ran his tongue over his teeth, trying to think how to word it. He'd been thinking about it the entire way here, and he was still empty handed.  
"I want to ask for your blessing to marry your son."  
Well. That worked.  
Magnus gauged her reaction; eyebrows went up, and she sat up a little straighter. A few blinks, then she said "Excuse me?" She swallowed. "I, well. I'd like to say I didn't think you two were quite so serious, but let's be honest." She sighed, leaning back in her chair. Magnus was on the edge of his. "Magnus," She made eye contact once more. "He's eighteen." She said softly.  
A piece of leaf on his shoe became quite fascinating. Almost under his breath he said "No one knows better than I, what he's getting himself into. And we've already discussed the age issue."  
"I'm sure you have." A pause. "Is there a reason you want this now?" He looked up at this. "I mean, you two seem happy. There is no threat at the moment. Everything has been calm the past few months after everything."  
Magnus blinked at her. "It's not my idea."  
Eyes narrowed. "What?"  
A sly smile grew on his face. He enunciated his words. "Alec asked me."  
Maryse's mouth parted. "He did?"  
"Maryse," He sat up straighter. "It might surprise you to know that your son has the exact same courage that you yourself has. He knows what he wants. And he goes after it." _And he's caught me._ "I will never deny that we have had our differences in the past. But we both wish nothing more than to spend whatever time we have left together."  
She looked like she didn't have an answer. "I suppose you're right."  
A weight lifted up. "Am I?"  
She rubbed her forehead. "Alec has always been extremely special to me. He's my first born, my first child. But I have never seen him so devastated than when you two were," She gestured with her hand. "Apart, last year. If that's what his life would be like without you then," She paused. "I could never wish that on him in a million years."  
"So...?"  
"So." She smiled at him. "I'll speak to Robert. But," A deep breath. "You have my blessing, Magnus."  
He couldn't help the smile, and the happiness that radiated off of him. They spoke their goodbyes, then Magnus slipped out the door, and ran -literally- right into Alec. The younger boy took a step back, looking up at him.  
"What are you doing here?"  
Magnus made a quick excuse about talking to Maryse about a client. Then he asked if Alec was free. He knew that they hadn't talked about last night, and he wanted to. Especially now that Maryse knew. Magnus felt like he was walking on clouds. Alec said something about being free later that night, and Magnus clapped his hands apart.  
"Perfect!"Perfect. On the spot he made the plans for a party. He could throw one together in a few hours. Granted, it wouldn't be as good as his 1999 new year's party, but he could still make it work. He made Chairman the featured guest, and told Alec to invite his friends.  
Then Magnus leaned toward him, not touching, except for his hands against Alec's cool, pale face. "Perfect," he whispered again, watching Alec's eyes widen. He let their lips barely touch, then pulled away and disappeared down the hall. He would try and tell him tonight. And he couldn't wait.


	12. Chapter 12

Thinking about possibly doing a sequel…Would it be a good idea? : )


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